Hermann biermann



(No Model.)

H. BIERMANN. DEVICE FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS 0N RAILRQADS. No. 598,062.Patented Jan. 25, 1898.

Will! UNITED STATES PATENT HER-MANN BIERMANN, OF BRES'LAU, GERMANY.

DEVICE FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTS ON RAILROADS.

SPEGIFIGAT ICN forming part of Letters Patent No. 598,062, dated January25, 1898.

Application filed April 6, 1896. Serial No. 586,444 (No model.) I

To all whom it nmyconccrn:

Be it known that I, HERMANN BIERMANN,

, merchant, of Paradiesstrasse, Breslau, in

the Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Means for Preventing Accidentson Railroads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a device for preventing aocidents on railroadscaused by the breaking or loosening of rails or of the connecting parts,as fish-plates, screws, and the like; and the object of my, invention isto actuate bymeans of electricity the alarm and safety apparatuses ofthe train when a rail has broken or a fish-plate is loosened before thetrain has reached the defective spot. I attain this object by means ofarrangements illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- IFigure 1 shows the back view of a locomotive provided with thecurrent-generator and the conductors. Figs. 2 and 3 showdiagrammatically a part of the track with a main line and a secondaryline.

The track is used as a main line for the electric current flowing fromthe current-generator c2 of the locomotive and is divided in severalfields u b c, non-insulated from each other by means of wires 19 o p o pn or other conductors. At the end of each field a contact device isarranged for the purpose of interrupting the main line of each field andconducting the current over thenext field and back to thecurrent-generator by means of a secondary line formed by means of thewires is 71; 70 insulated from each other at q q respectively. Foreverydirection in which the train passes a secondary conductor isrequired, althoughin the drawings the arrangement is shown only for onedirection. (Indicated by arrow.) At the end of the field a the rails aand c are connected with the wires and o, and these wires are passedthrough the contact device 9, connecting the wires by means of a springr and a contact '6, the spring r forming the armature of anelectromagnet l, electrically connected with the rail a and with thewire ktoo by means of a wire s.

At the end of the field b the contact device h is arranged, having thesame construction and the same connection to the rails h b and the wireis of this field, as well as the contact device 9 with the rails andwire of its field a. The arrangement of the contact device i, connectedwith the rails c c and the wire of the field c, is made similarly tothat of the contact device of the field a. In the three contact devicessimilar reference-letters refer to similar parts, and the letters of thecontact device I) and a have the additional numerals 1 and 2,respectively.

The locomotive has two contact-levers e and f. The lever f is providedwith" two rolls f and o, insulated from each other and from the lever fand connected with the one terminal of the current-generator (Z by meansof wires .2, while the roll 6 of the lever e is connected with the otherterminal of the current-generator by means of a wire 2. With the wires.2 connecting the roll f and c with the current-generator a secondaryconductor 2' is connected, in which alarm and safety apparatuses and aresistance 2 are put;

When the train A passes into the field a, (see Fig. 4,) the roll 0slides over the wire 70, and a'secondary current flows from the rail athrough the electromagnet Z, wire 8', wire 10, roll 0, and back to thecurrentgenerator, whereby the armature r is attracted and the electricalconnection between the rails a and a is interrupted. The primary currentflowing from the currentgenerator through the roll c and the rail acannot pass any morethrough the contact device h, the rail a roll f, andback to the current-generator,but is compelled to fiow through the railb of the field 1), wire '0 contact device 1', Wire 19 rail b rail a rollf, and back to the currentgenerator. However, when a resistance of agreater intensity than that of the resistance 2 put in the secondaryconductor a is produced in the field I) through the loosening of afish-plate or the breaking of a rail, the re sistance 2 will be overcomeand the primary current flows through the secondary conductor 2" back tothe current-generator and actuates in this way the alarm and safetyapparatuses of the conductor ,2. In this mannor the field b iscontrolled by the currentgenerator in the field Ct. The same control ofthe field 0 may be efiectcd when the current-generator passes into thefield b, where by the field a has become without current.

' ranged in thetrain, with a main-line circuit Having now described myinvention, What I claim, and desireto secure by LettersPatvent; is'

1. In a device for preventing railroad accidents through break orloosening of rails,

the combination of a current-generator an adapted to "be put inelectrical connection with the current-generator and consisting of therails of the track and divided in'several fields, each field beingconnected by means of two wires witha contact device adapted to be putout of the circuit of the main line, a secondary-linecircuit comprisingwires insulated from each other-at the end of each field of the main1ine, sa;id circuit being connected with the main-line circuit throughthecontact device and a secondary conductor on the cab connecting theterminal wires of the con rent-generator and containing a resistance andthe alarm and safety apparatuses of the train,substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

' 2. In a device. for preventing railroad ac cidents through break orloosening of 'i'ails, the combination of a current-generator arranged inthe train, With a main-line circuit adapted to be put in electricalconnection with the eurrenbgenerator and consisting of the rails of thetrack and divided in several fields by means of wires, a secondary-linecircuit comprising Wires insulated from each other at the end of each ofsaid fields; said circuit being put in the circuit of the main line, asecondary conductor on the cab connecting 'the terminal WlIG'S'Of thecurrentgenerator andcontaining a resistanceand HERMANN BIERMANN.

Witnesses:

EWALD BoEHM, HERMANN BARTSCH.

